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Originally Posted by sam2020
Ottawa is a very big festival city the city has one awards and just last week was named one of the best festivals citys in ont.
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One of the things I love about the city is its special events team (SEAT), which was cited in the city's press material around that award.
I've contributed a few things over the years. For seven years I've been organizing the Hintonburg 5k, which is probably the only race in the city featuring Lucky Ron on his porch (I pay him with whiskey), and the Outlaws misting runners. I've also done some things like screen movies in Parkdale Park, including the Dog Movie Night, and Stompin' Tom doc. Each time, dealing with the City around permits has been one of the easiest parts of the job. It's one-stop shopping, and the SEAT staff exercise a ton of common sense. The 5k is actually a fairly big event - I think I close around 30 intersections, have to get cops, it affects OC Transpo, there's health considerations around food. And each time the SEAT staff are a joy to deal with.
When I was with the HCA, we had the same experience for the ARTSPark event as well - though it tends to be a different set of volunteers running that.
All to say, there's a culture at the city of working to facilitate events. I know movie screenings, 5ks and arts exhibits may not float everyone's boat, but those just scratch the surface of what's being held every year. I went to a couple of the consultations on the new by-law, and it was amazing to see who was around the table: organizers of the big festivals, Race Weekend, nuit blanche, all the way to community folks hosting street parties. And now we've got things like the brewers' markets being organized by folks like Beyond the Pale. It's really quite remarkable.
You can make your own fun with a little time and sweat equity. There's a huge capacity in the community of people who are connected with businesses and BIAs who can facilitate things like liquor permits. And if you're tapped into the community, you can always find someone willing to lend a PA system, or safety vests, or who can help with communications, or who knows how to get a SOCAN licence, or who can find a few bucks to hire police.
I think all that's missing to be even more vibrant are people just willing to get the ball rolling. Everything else is out there - all the capacity and resources you need, and a city staff willing to get the bureaucracy out of the way. Want to have more fun stuff to do in Ottawa? Just do it, already. But you're not going to do it alone - reach out and ask for help.
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Are you for real? One pro sports team for a (globally) marginal sport based 45 minutes from downtown Ottawa with the worst attendance of any Canadian team? Between 2005 and Summer 2014 Ottawa had by far the worst pro sports scene of any >750,000 person city in the country. The location of CTC is a joke and there is nothing in the downtown core that would indicate in any way Ottawa plays sports of any kind (no ads, no billboards, no apparel, hell the Sens Store at Rideau closed down). 
Anyway, I won't expect a Christmas card from you.
), whereas Edmonton really banks itself on its festivals, especially in the summer, but increasingly in every season. I'm less familiar with Ottawa than Edmonton obviously, but perhaps that and it being sandwiched between two great festival cities gives me the impression that Edmonton exudes more of a festival city persona.
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